Our strategy
Our vision, purpose and strategy as a world-leader in composites.
Richard Oldfield, CEO
"We are industry's research and development partner. When companies need to make things lighter, stronger, smarter and more sustainable they come to the NCC. With access to 'beyond' state-of-the-art technology and the best composites engineering capabilities in the world, we help our customers solve the most complex engineering challenges of our time."
Our Story
The National Composites Centre was created as the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Composites Research and Development following the inclusion of this disruptive technology into government industrial strategy. Our task: to be recognised as a world leader in composite technology, accelerating the development and uptake of digital technologies for sustainable composites and growing the market for composites by driving innovation through collaboration and partnerships.
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Why choose composites?
Lightweight, strong, durable and adaptable, the unique properties of composites help us to design and make better products with less waste that last longer.
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Meet the team
The NCC leadership team has extensive engineering and commercial experience across industry sectors.
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Membership at the NCC
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Academic reach
The NCC works proactively with universities across the UK and overseas in a number of ways to pull through fundamental research to industrial applications.
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Cross-Catapult programmes
We work closely with partners across the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and wider UK Catapult Network on collaborative projects.
Our networks
High Value Manufacturing Catapult
The NCC is proud to be one of seven centres that makes up the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, which is itself one of nine Catapults created as a key tool in Innovate UK’s range of innovation support for businesses. Each Catapult is focused on an area in which the UK has the potential to grow in strategically important global markets.
Composites Leadership Forum
The National Composites Centre is a pivotal member of the UK’s Composite Leadership Forum which works to influence the Government and other bodies to bring together support for composites and ensure growth and industrial success for the UK. It is chaired and led by industry.
Composites UK Trade Association
The NCC also is a board member of Composites UK Trade Association, fully supporting its mission to encourage continuous growth and development of the industry, promoting the best practice use of composites materials. We work closely to bring companies throughout the composites supply chain together, creating a unified voice to drive the industry forward to the benefit all of those involved.
Our Members
Our latest news
News
News
News
Opinion
Opinion
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GW4 secures £10 million investment for Arm-based supercomputer Isambard 3, in collaboration with HPE and NVIDIA, creating one of the world’s TOP500 supercomputers
23 May 2023The UK’s GW4 Alliance, which brings together the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, together with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), NVIDIA and Arm, have been awarded £10 million by UKRI to develop Isambard 3, a new, TOP500-class supercomputer service for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) which will be hosted at the National Composites Centre. -
The National Composites Centre to Play Key Role in €4.99 Million Project to Develop Metal-Free Electronic Components
04 May 2023The National Composites Centre will play a key role in the EU-funded REFORM project, which seeks to become the catalyst for the creation of a green functional electronics supply chain that could replace metal and copper wiring in electronic devices and appliances. -
Gekatex Group join NCC Membership
03 May 2023The National Composites Centre is pleased to welcome Gekatex Group as a Member. -
The hydrogen challenge: addressing the awareness gap
02 May 2023New hydrogen awareness training will help ensure the UK can overcome any challenges in our net zero transition. Read how we're approaching this in an article by Katy Riddington, NCC's Transformation Services Director. -
SiC/SiC composites enable twice the electricity from fusion-generated heat
26 Apr 2023Fusion energy promises nearly boundless, sustainable power. In recent years, many advances have been made that have the potential to unlock this almost limitless source of low carbon energy. Read the article by Dr Peter Giddings CEng MiMechE, NCC's Chief Engineer of Energy.
